In current conflicts, armed forces are often near civilian areas, or even based in areas of civilian habitation. To avoid collateral damage, in particular to prevent the risk of harming civilian populations, modern ammunitions are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Ammunitions may notably be designed to cause damage over a relatively limited perimeter and may also be provided with guiding means. Guiding generally results in better impact precision. It therefore makes it possible to destroy a target with a limited risk of hitting the neighbouring environment. The ammunition may be guided by a ground guiding system or by a device incorporated into the ammunition. A ground guiding system makes it possible to redirect the ammunition if it is sufficiently anticipated. A redirection may be necessary for example if the target has moved or if the objective has been changed. However, an ammunition incorporating a guiding device generally becomes completely autonomous after it has been launched. It is then no longer possible to modify the target. Whatever the type of guiding, safety problems arise in several circumstances. For example, the ammunition may adopt an aberrant trajectory, that is to say a trajectory not enabling it to reach its target. The ammunition may also encounter an obstacle in its path. Finally, the mission may have to be abandoned for various reasons, notably should the presence of civilians near the target be discovered after the ammunition has been launched. These safety problems create a need to be able to neutralize an ammunition after it has been launched. The expression “neutralize the ammunition” is understood to mean the ability to prevent its explosive charge from exploding, that is to say to prevent it decomposing in a few microseconds. Furthermore, the capability of neutralizing an ammunition may also prove necessary even if the ammunition has not been launched.
The neutralization of an unlaunched ammunition is for example of interest when the place where it is stored is threatened with an attack. It is then desirable for the ammunition, which may be close to allied military forces, to be prevented from exploding.